Vampire Virus
by LivingForTv
Summary: The Winchesters are looking for a woman abducted by vampires. In the process they meet old "friends" and make new ones. There is also the rumor of a cure...
1. Haunted Hunters

**Author's Note: **Ok, so this multi-chapter fic is done. I feel that the quality is quite uneven but that the basic story is rather interesting. But that's up to you to decide. If you do make it to the end please drop me a note and tell me what you thought.

**Deep Insight: **It's always so easy to tell other people that it's ok to suck the first times you do something. But when you are the one that sucks it gets a bit more difficult. I will however put this story out there, and suck. Because sometimes you have to follow your own advice.

**Spoilers: **It's definitely set after 3 X 07, but probably somewhere in the fourth season.

**Disclaimer: **This addicted fan is no drain on the funds at the Supernatural blood bank. This one is for the soul and not the money.

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**Haunted Hunters**

"But I never _wanted_ to be a vampire!" the dark-haired, slim teenage boy sobbed just as Sam let the machete fall, severing his head and ending his misery. At least, that was the way Sam had to think about it or throw up. Dean only sighed as the young vampire stopped struggling, changed his grip and started dragging the now dead weight to the edge where he let it fall with a loud splash between two boats. Fortunately the small harbour was completely deserted on this cold night in early March. Sam hadn't moved and Dean went back for the head and let it follow the body.

There was no adrenaline high to come down from, no sudden sense of victory at the kill. This hunt had been practically, well, at least in comparison, risk-free. The vampire they had been after had been new and stupid, not to mention starving. He had been the only one to escape the nest they had exterminated earlier that week. Hunting him down had been annoying as hell as he had got lucky several times and slipped through their fingers. But it hadn't been very dangerous. The hunt that had taken care of the others in the nest had been a whole other kettle of sharks.

The Winchesters had teamed up with another pair of brother hunters, the twins Jackson and Michael, who preferred to be called Jack and Mack. Though they were undoubtedly older than the Winchesters their exact age was impossible to tell. It was they who had tracked down the vampire nest and come to the conclusion that they had needed assistance. So they had called Ellen to ask for available help. And she had called the Winchesters since she had known they were in the area.

Ellen had been running a roadhouse for way too long to change tack now and she had continued to be a central of gossip and news as well as an improvised job agency, forgery of drivers' licenses and purveyor of specialised ammo. Ellen had made the introductions and suggested they might work well together. It had been grisly, bloody, dangerous and - fun.

The twins had been easygoing, light-hearted souls who managed to stay alive, it seemed, mostly by never flinching in the face of danger. Quite often unnerving evil and stopping it in its tracks by giving it a friendly grin while the other brother aimed and shot. The Winchesters had liked them from the start and cell phone numbers and certain aliases and codes had been exchanged for future endeavours. The hunt had gone well and the world was six vampires down. The seventh was the teenager and since the twins had other business down south the Winchesters had agreed to wrap it up.

"Come on, Sammy. Let's go put the tools in the trunk and hit a bar. What do you say?"

Dean patted his brother lightly on the back and threw an arm around his shoulders, physically pulling him away from the scene of the "crime". In the morning, or possibly the day after that, someone would find a beheaded corpse in the water and Dean wanted them far away by then. Sam reluctantly let himself be led away, still looking downcast.

Dean glanced at him and a small smile curled his lips. Any person watching, who didn't know Sam, would run screaming at the sight of this giant of a man absentmindedly carrying a bloody machete. And all Dean saw was a harmless, too-sensitive-for-his-own-good, depressed little brother. _Don't judge a book by its cover_, he thought, _or a redwood by its leaves_, he amended as he watched his baby brother fold himself double to get into the car.

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_Ok?_


	2. Post Mortem

**And I'm posting two chapters, short ones. Please tell me if you have any suggestions.**

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**Post Mortem**

Dean returned with their beers and shots and sat down in the dark corner of the bar where Sam waited.

"Alright, I can see something is bothering you. You might as well tell me", he said as he took his seat.

Actually, Dean had a pretty damn good idea of what was bothering Sam, but he knew that it would have been stupid to say so. He'd only do that if he was in a hurry and, right now, they had all the time in the world. Sam nodded.

"It's that idiot of a kid", he sighed, allowing his shoulders to sag.

Dean knew it had to be that. He knew how his brother worked. He was compassionate in a way Dean had always secretly envied. Sam picked up his shot but didn't drink it, just twirled it around. Dean groaned inwardly but didn't let his impatience show. He wondered why he kept making that mistake, buying Sam alcohol when he was miserable and needed to talk and get something off his chest. He should have learnt by now that while he dealt with problems by swiftly drinking anything in front of him, and then letting the problems work themselves out in a dulled brain, Sam was the opposite. He'd neither drink nor eat, unless bullied into it, until he had turned the problem over enough times to either not care about it anymore or decide that it didn't have be a problem. Sam seemed to talk to his glass, his voice so low Dean had to strain to hear him over the country song playing.

"He was just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know? And instead of making him lunch they decide he is just stupid enough to be fun to keep around. No threat to the leader. Not confident enough to refuse orders. Not smart enough to think about one day leaving the pack behind and live by his own rules. And suddenly he is a vampire. He never asked to be. And it bugs me."

Sam continued to fiddle around with the glass of shot, watching the play of the dim light in the liquid, and hadn't looked up once during his speech. But Dean nodded and shook his head anyway in all the right places. Sympathy softening his features.

"I hear ya, Sammy. And that's why we kill them" he gently reminded him. "We got six of the bastards this week, well, seven. That's what we do. We _get _the bastards. The don't get away with it."

He cocked his head to the side and regarded his brother. He knew Sam would come around and be fine, but he hated to see him beat himself up for how the world works. Sometimes he was sad that his brother would never become a lawyer and live a normal life, whatever that was, but sometimes he was grateful.

As a lawyer Sam would still have faced monsters every once in a while, and some of them would have been let loose thanks to him. Because Sam could never do anything less than his best. At least with their kind of life he got to kill the evil he encountered. And living outside the law also meant that sometimes they got the opportunity of beating the crap out of evil people. As a lawyer he would never have had that release. He wouldn't mention this train of thought to Sam though, because he wanted him to be able to escape to his dreams of normality.

Just then Sam looked up and their eyes met, Sam looking brooding and pensive as was fit. But Dean was caught with that gentle look he sometimes wore when he considered his little brother. Caught off guard he immediately rose to get them some more beer, hiding his expression in the collar of his leather jacket and a badass swagger, but Sam had seen him and started chuckling to himself.

He loved his brother dearly all the time, but moments like those, when he managed to catch him in a softer mood and embarrass him, were always moments to treasure. He suddenly decided that life wasn't so tough after all when things that could look so rough on the surface could be so soft underneath. He downed the shot and started in on the beer.

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_Better? Worse? Indifferent?_


	3. The Prey

**A very nice person, SaintsGhost, read this through for me and gave me the go-ahead. Thank you!**

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**The Prey**

Angela Sullivan was getting ready to meet her date, a handsome history teacher whom she had met among the do-it-yourself shelves in a bookshop. She smiled to herself as she thought about it. It had been one of those freak meetings where both parties had become immediately interested in the other. She didn't actually think they would be an item for any longer period but right now it felt good to go on a date.

Angela hadn't been single for very long. She had in fact left her fiancé practically at the altar. It had been quite sudden. One day she had seen him sit on the couch and watch a day time soap opera with a vacant look on his face, and she remembered seeing him sitting like that almost every day for the past two years. For some reason it had only taken her a second to decide that a man who watched soap operas every day without even being interested in the intrigue was not the man for her. Why didn't he go out and DO something, for heaven's sake? She had just snapped. He hadn't understood, she hadn't been able to explain and most of their friends had been convinced she had lost her mind. Maybe she had.

She had also discovered that their friends were actually Rick's friends and most of them had turned their back on her. And since she didn't have any family she had found that she had in one fell swoop lost everyone near to her. It was heart-wrenching but she would not, could not, take him back.

She looked at her image in the mirror and wondered what it would take for her to fall in love. Would it happen again? She remembered being in love with Rick, before suddenly she wasn't. Could love disappear as fast as it came? Apparently. Well, whatever started this evening would have to run its course.

A sudden shudder down her spine told her that something was indeed about to start and she cowardly wondered if she should stay at home. But then she straightened her back and smiled at herself, determined to find out if life still held any surprises.

The road to their meeting place, a romantic little restaurant on the shore miles from anywhere seemed just the place. She knew he had probably picked the place so as not to run into anyone he knew, but that was fine by her. It was however a little tricky to find it. While she looked at the map and the road signs at the same times she suddenly saw a shadow on the road and she hit the brakes as hard as she could and narrowly avoided hitting the person. Instead she drove straight into a tree and hit her head in the steering wheel.

When she came to she realised that she hadn't been out for long. A man was loosening her seatbelt and shushed her when she whimpered slightly. "Shh, shh I have you. It will be fine" he said. And she felt ice shoot down her spine and spread its chill all the way into her heart. It was not the reassuring words that suddenly pushed her panic button, but something did and before she had time to think she put every ounce of strength in a sharp elbow. It was a perfect hit and her… rescuer? assailant? … cried out and cannoned backwards, completely taken by surprise.

Then she stumbled and fell out of the car, only intent on running as fast as she could, but stopped dead when she heard the howling laughter. The man hadn't been alone. Four other people, both men and women, were lounging around a jeep by the roadside. They didn't look worried in the least and they all seemed absolutely fascinated by her. Their eyes glittered eerily as another vicious knock sent her back into the darkness. Her last aware thought was: _I am going to hell for leaving Rick._

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_Well, we'll continue and see where we end up, shall we?_


	4. On the Road Again

**On the road again**

The day after the vampire execution turned out to be a beautiful morning with a hint of spring and a bunch of overexcited birds swooping around, insanely cheerful. The air was headily fresh and the road lay clear in front of them. It was a day to relax and feel at one with Mother Nature.

But because they needed to put a healthy section of the country between themselves and a headless corpse the morning sun found the Winchesters already up and about, driving the Impala south. Sam enjoying Mother Nature and Dean enjoying smooth asphalt and an excellent rock station. Dean looked at Sam out of the corner of his eye and noticed with satisfaction that he was smiling slightly. He pushed a little extra on the gas pedal and sang along in the refrain.

The good thing about this nomadic life, Sam decided as he felt the fresh wind on his face, was the difficulty for bad memories to hang around. They were always moving away from the areas in which they were created. He had seen Dean watching him, trying to figure out if he was in a good mood or if he was supposed to cheer him up, but that wasn't enough to irritate him on a day as nice as this one. And Dean hadn't been open with it, Sam had only seen it because he had been expecting that look. One day they had to sit down and have a talk about how even younger brothers get older. Or possibly a fight about it. But not today.

Besides, it was so much easier to play along with Dean since he wasn't going to stop no matter what reasons Sam put forth. Dean was as unchangeable as the seasons when it came to taking care of Sam and at the moment he was just plain happy about getting to drive in good weather and listen to music. Sam pushed the memories of the events in the cold harbor to the back of his head and turned his face towards the sun. They left the town and coast behind them without remorse.

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_And here we go...._


	5. In Hell

**In hell**

Angela knows she is in deep trouble before she wakes up. There's a headache, and she hasn't been drinking. She hasn't been since she was in college, well, not enough to give her a hangover. No more hangovers; that was practically her graduation promise. There are people moving around her, laughing. Someone is crying and screaming, a man, a young man.

She doesn't want to leave the darkness but it isn't her choice anymore and she opens her eyes and, lifts her head? Was she sleeping sitting up? Ah, she's got support, ropes around her waist and… yes, make that handcuffs behind her back. She knows what handcuffs feel like; she was arrested for speed driving once. That sense of helplessness as she sat cuffed in the back of the police car had obviously lingered more than she expected in her mind. If her brain can't recall much it's by choice; her body remembers it well. She can't stop the useless, pathetic jerk against the steel.

Somewhere inside Angela there is the core of her, the part that only watches and registers facts. It watches her now, sees how she regains her senses. Watches her realise that she is in a vampire coven. Or pack. Or nest. Or lair. What is it called? Her mind tries to make a logical choice; what do you call a group of vampires? The core notices how fast she goes from not believing in vampires to being deathly afraid of the ones she can see in front of her. Watches her almost lose her mind as she sees a young man being dragged on to a table where two vampires hold him down while they suck his blood.

The young man screams and begs and it's only the inner part of Angela that notices that she screams even louder than him, to drown out his screams and, perhaps, to help him focus on something else. The rest of her is beyond control, almost comically so, her inner part thinks. She is on the verge of fainting and on the verge of losing her mind and time holds no meaning as she struggles to get free from this nightmare. After an immeasurable amount of time, hours, years, seconds, the young man stops struggling and goes limp. The vampires stop soon after and one of them carries him out of the room. He isn't dead. He's leftovers.

It's not until the victim, that's the only name she has for him, has been removed from the room that Angela can hear her inner voice again and it plays back what just happened. In the middle of all her terror she is embarrassed, and panicked about, that she almost lost her mind. It's the one thing she has always been proud of, her stable mind. She got promoted because of her ability to keep her head in a crisis. Not anymore.

Then, as if working down a list, she notices the female vampire sitting next her, a hand loosely around the back of her neck. The creature smiles, a big toothy grin that doesn't sport a single fang, only the usual ones. But Angela is aware now and knows her for what she is. There and then, though she'd be unable to tell how or why, she takes back her grip on sanity and resolves to keep it until the end.

"Hey pretty. Tell me about yourself." the vampire says.

Angela doesn't dare shut her eyes or turn her head away. Both would leave her neck unprotected. And everyone knows that vampires go for the neck. So she stares at the vampire and dredges up what courage she has. It's better to face one at a time and try to forget about the rest.

"I'm a bank manager."

She is surprised she can even get the words out. The vampire makes an encouraging nod, wanting her to go on, so she does. She tells the creature about her job, her apartment and her ex-fiancé, unable to stop. Her mouth going on auto. Until the vampire looks away, questioningly, at a male vampire she hasn't even noticed.

"Nah, not interesting enough", he says and then, just like that, she knows she is food and is being led away to the pantry.

The pantry is a wall with hooks and chains where she is summarily tied up between the most recent victim, who is still unconscious, and a young woman who sports several visible bite marks and a vacant look that tells Angela that she has retreated to a safe place within. Neither is in any state to offer a word of comfort or a look of shared feelings to ease the situation. Angela is utterly, desperately alone and turns to the only source she knows, hopes, is always listening. She whispers "_Our Father, who art in Heaven_..."

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_Had to have a chapter like this, but the Winchesters are up next, follow me!_


	6. Visiting a Home

**And I'm still taking suggestions for improvement....**

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**Visiting a home**

They had decided to check in with Ellen in person since talking to her on the phone had reminded them that it had been a while since they saw her. As a link to their father she would every now and then let slip small nuggets of gold about things he had said or done or liked. But more than that she stood before them as a nice, no nonsense person who didn't let people mope around and could tell the wildest stories from her youth. Most of which were probably true if Jo was anything to judge her mother's genes by. She had also promised them a copy of a book they had first seen at Bobby's and then asked her to keep an eye out for.

It took them the better part of two days to get to Ellen's, but when they knocked on the door they immediately forgot the journey and considered it all worthwhile. Ellen flung herself first around Dean's neck and then around Sam's, heartily wishing them welcome and ushering them inside without delay.

It seemed to the brothers that she had grown softer since last time they saw her. A bit rounder, a bit more relaxed. But then again, maybe this was the kind of person she had always been, Sam mused while she talked animatedly with Dean. As long as she was behind the counter in Harvelle's roadhouse she had to look like the toughest chick that ever walked the earth simply to prevent rowdiness in there. Not all hunters were well behaved, and some of them had chosen the life of a hunter to drop below the police radar.

"Tell me you'll stay for a while, boys", she demanded as she led them into the kitchen, turning around to meet Sam's eyes, her own alight with happiness.

Dean looked over at Sam who smiled and nodded and Dean patted Ellen's shoulder and answered for them both; "As long as there is dinner, we're starving for some home cooking."

Ellen looked at Dean with such insightful tenderness that he unexpectedly thought of his mother, maybe she did too. And indeed, to Ellen Dean and Sam were poor orphans, but then she turned around with an airy laugh as she promised that if food was the only thing they required to stay she'd see them roll around without wheels before she let them leave.

The brothers followed her into the big, messy but clean kitchen where she set out to make steaks and something involving potatoes, butter and cheese with gravy made from scratch. And none of them could seem to shut up, they were just enjoying being together again in this little bubble in time where everything felt alright.

The noise and laughter soon drew another person into the kitchen, a young woman who looked shyly at the brothers and waited for Ellen's invitation before she stepped into the kitchen. Ellen introduced her simply as Corianne. No last name, no explanation. But from the way Ellen went out of her way to make the woman feel welcome, by putting her to peeling a pound of potatoes and generally bossing her around, the brothers got a feeling that she was a bedraggled kitten Ellen has rescued from the street.

Dean asked her a silent question with looks only and was rewarded by an apologetic grin and a shrug that said, clearer than words; old habits die hard. Ellen was used to taking care of people in transition. And Dean could sympathize with that so he turned the full force of his flirtatious smile on his father's old friend. And because she was Ellen she scowled at him. Sam didn't miss anything said or not said and sat down next to Corianne to her help her peel potatoes, dragging her into a conversation about potatoes that lasted until dinner was done.

The dinner was worth waiting for and they were joined by a couple of other people who only came by to buy supplies. It was obvious that Ellen was still running some kind of roadhouse in the big old ranch house. The brothers then got assigned a spacious guest room on the second floor and they fell asleep feeling a safety that they hadn't known since they used to stay at Pastor Jim's as children.

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_I know I know, cheesy but... they need a mother! I'm giving them one!_


	7. A Stitch in Time

**A stitch in time**

After a couple of uneventful days at Ellen's the Winchesters decided to continue on to a bigger city. None of Ellen's guests or customers had arrived with news of any pressing evil to take care of and they found themselves surprisingly out of work. But before leaving on their well deserved vacation tour Ellen wanted to show them some of the new weapons and ammo she had acquired. After making sure they were alone in the house she took them to a hidden door in the basement and let them in. It reminded them a lot of their dad's storage place but didn't have as much dust.

Dean was secretly disappointed that it didn't resemblance any of the high-tech vaults for special weapons he had seen in the movies, but he was highly impressed by the actual weapons. Most of them were standard issue but difficult to get a hold of. Dean decided on a clip of silver bullets, it was a relief to be able to buy them instead of casting them himself. Sam ticked off an internal list of herbs they were low on and collected several bags. They both examined the poisons and tranquilisers that would affect most living beings immediately. In their opinion a monster that didn't attack was the best one. Dean delightedly picked out a new dart gun, their old one had developed a habit of drawing ever so slightly to the left after it had connected too hard with a wall. There was also another thing she particularly wanted to show them and she picked up a locked box to take out a clip.

"This" Ellen said and held up a 44. bullet "is made to kill vampires. "It's an expanding round, but the shrapnel is lying in dead man's blood with an added ingredient that doesn't make it coagulate so fast. It's something the medieval relic peddlers cooked up to sell "blood of the lamb" that would always be running. Just give the clip a good shake every month or so and it should be good."

Sam took it and weighed it in his hand before giving it to Dean. He was impressed and said so. Dean looked thoughtfully from the clip to his own gun and asked; "How many calibres do you have them in? And who says they work?"

"I say they work. Rufus made them. He never makes things that don't work. He came up with a few quite ingenious things for Bill from time to time." She smiled sadly at some private memory and then packed up their purchases. "You guys want a receipt?"

"Do you take credit cards?" Dean asked innocently and received a friendly shove in the side.

"From you guys?" Ellen asked, exaggerating a how-dumb-do-you-think-I-am look. "No, but you got good credit with me. Here's my bank account number" she said and handed it to Sam with a smile, "just deposit the money there when you have them. And don't go robbing a bank, you hear?"

When they waved goodbye to Ellen and her unofficial road house they were sad to go, but it would have been too easy to stay. Ellen obviously wanted them to and they would have dearly loved to see Jo again. But there were still evil things on their trail and they didn't want to lead them too close to the people that really meant something.

"Big city, he we come" Dean called and slammed Metallica into the cassette player. Sam leaned back and closed his eyes, thinking of Ellen's husband and his father, wondering if the images he had seen in his head while he was possessed by Meg the demon were true.

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_About time they upgraded, hm?_


	8. Visitors From the Past

**Visitors from the past**

"So, Chinese or a burger for lunch?" Dean asked as they stepped out of the hotel.

The brothers had decided that their bit of a vacation would be best spent in a big city and had driven to Chicago. Now the car was safely parked in the underground garage of the fancy hotel and they were within walking distance of every desire. And the sun was shining, the people seemed friendly and they had time on their hands. It seemed like a day for a lazy choice.

"I say we walk until we find something that looks good," Sam answered and smiled at his brother.

Dean smiled too. It was rare to see Sam smile so unguardedly nowadays and he enjoyed the sight. He didn't know that Sam was smiling because he knew that the very first food place would be the one Dean chose. But if he had known it wouldn't have mattered.

"Italian. Mmm. What do you say, Sammy?" Dean wondered three minutes later as the first restaurant showed up along the street.

That elicited a chuckle from Sam and he looked over at him, an eye-brow cocked. But Sam just shook his head and said: "Perfect. It's been some time since we had good bread sticks and garlic bread."

Dean nodded, satisfied, and they went in to get a table.

The brothers spent the rest of the day shopping, discovering which way the trends had moved in the past four years. They weren't badly behind since jeans and shirts are items that stay no matter what, but some subtle changes had to be made and the sales clerks were delighted to enlighten them. Sam signed John Connor on a lot of credit card slips and surprised his brother with being able to speak fashion. Dean idly wondered when Sam had picked up knowledge of what colours and materials that went with what, but he also enjoyed being presented one piece of clothing after another that made his good looks even more pronounced. And he enjoyed teasing Sam about it.

Sam frowned and deliberated and felt good memories stir up from when he had been allowed to boss around his big brother. Not because he was stronger but because he was loved. They laughed a lot and spread good cheer in every store they went. Several of the sales clerks also came away with the notion that they were gay, but Sam didn't care and Dean didn't notice. Sam saved that information for another day when nothing else presented itself to tease Dean about.

The good mood continued as they approached the hotel, toting several bags each and feeling relaxed enough to swing them a bit, secure in the knowledge that no one knew them in this area. As it turned out though they were wrong because as they approached the hotel entrance a couple of familiar faces stood out. Sam saw them first.

"Dean. Isn't that Lenore?"

Sam frowned, it was summer and though the stores were closing the sun was still high and warm. What did a vampire do outdoors? Sure they didn't combust or fall to pieces but they weren't comfortable in the sun either. And what was she doing here?

"It is, and that's the other guy, the bartender, what's his name… Eli?"

Dean felt his shoulders tense and noticed with surprise that he had been relaxed before. Really relaxed. But there was no time to dwell on that since business seemed at hand. As the brothers approached the couple they noticed that something was different but it was hard to put a finger on.

The meeting wasn't exactly casual. Sam smiled a little at Lenore and Dean nodded towards Eli, his whole body language telling him loud and clear that if they tried anything with his brother they'd be dead. Not in trouble. Dead. Eli nodded back, his movements showing that he had understood the message and though he wasn't happy about it he wouldn't make it a pissing contest just at the moment. Sam and Lenore had been looking at their respective charges and now exhaled at the same time, making them look each other in the eye and share a warmer smile.

"Sam, we would like to talk to you. It is about a hunt. Can we go someplace and talk?" Lenore asked.

"Sure, just as soon as you tell us how you found us." Dean interrupted, directing his condition to Eli before Sam would commit them to something they didn't know enough about.

Eli nodded and answered: "You hunters keep track of each other, don't you? Well, we also had… have a network of sorts. We don't really get along, it's wary at best, but every now and then we need to know something and so we inform each other. It's more by chance than design but it's a structure."

Dean looked hard at Eli, trying to figure out what felt so strange about the man from last time they had met, but then agreed that it made sense that the vampires would have some kind of means to communicate. After all, you couldn't have a lot of predators in the same area before people started to notice.

"There's a coffee shop over there" Sam said and pointed across the street.

He took the lead and they found a booth in the corner, Dean quickly getting them the seats where he could keep an eye out for more vampires. Sam sat down where Dean offered but felt a lot more relaxed than his brother. After all, he had been the one in Lenore's mercy and she had let him go. He trusted her. Somewhat. Besides, if any of the vampires would try anything Dean would be ready; Sam could feel the tension humming through his body from where he sat. As their order came to the table Sam finally figured out what his senses had tried telling him.

"You aren't vampires anymore!" he gasped, too loud, startling Lenore so she spilled some of her coffee.

As she quickly wiped it up she smiled uncertainly, showing perfectly normal teeth and a blush. Dean stared from Lenore to Eli, hardly believing his eyes. But he knew Sam had hit it right on. And now he wondered how he could have missed it. They had tans, for crying out loud. That was what had been nagging at him.

"You're right, Sam", she said, smiling again, taking Eli's hand. Eli's brown, human hand.

"But, there IS no cure for vampirism," he said, looking confused.

"There wasn't, and I don't know how long there will remain one", Eli said, solemnly.

"From the beginning, guys", Dean said, looking impatient but taking his hand off the gun in his pocket and picked up his coffee.

And so the ex-vampires told the story they had tracked them down to tell.

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_And this is actually where I feel my story begins...._


	9. Stranger Than Fiction

**Stranger than fiction**

Lenore was clearly still the leader and took the initiative to start talking.

"It began with a rumour" Lenore explained. "That a guy from the Dakota Fangs had become ill with some kind of virus and suddenly he wasn't a vampire anymore."

"Wait, "Dakota Fangs?" Dean asked and shared a disbelieving look with Sam. "Do you have gang colours as well? Handshakes?"

Lenore pointedly ignored him and kept talking. Their nest had decided to split up some time after their encounter with the Winchesters. They were too many to be able to move inconspicuously and would be able to blend in better in smaller groups. They had still kept in contact though because they needed the support not to start in on humans again. And then the rumour had caught up with them.

"As it turned out, it was the nest itself that was putting out the word about their member. They knew a lot of vampires who didn't want to be one anymore and decided to see if any money could be made by their cure." Eli said, forgetting about both pie and coffee, stroking Lenore's hand. "And we called and they told us it was iron-clad. 150 000 dollars was the price."

Dean and Sam shared another look and it fell to Sam to ask: "There have been four suspicious robberies against armoured cars transporting money, the robbers reported to be "unnaturally fast and impervious to bullets…?" The couple nodded.

"We took one of them", Lenore confessed, no shade of guilt colouring her voice.

Sam looked over at Dean who shook his head and shrugged. No one had died during the hold-ups so they let it slide.

Then they continued with the story. They had arrived at the nest, warily re-aquatinting themselves with the members. They had run into them a few times before. And after having handed over the money they had been shown a human woman huddling on a camp bed in a locked room down a hallway. At this image Dean and Sam straightened up and listened intently as the couple avoided meeting their eyes while they told how they had been drinking her blood. Lenore swallowed and whispered as she confessed: "It was the first time I had been drinking human blood in six years. It was…"

Eli stopped her by gently squeezing her hand and taking over the narration: "They told us that one of them, Hans, who had been a vampire for 27 years, had been drinking her blood and then become violently ill. He had thrown up and couldn't move for about three hours. And afterwards there was no sign he had ever been a vampire. At his own request the others had tried turning him back. But it was impossible, he stayed human and he only vomited if he tried drinking blood. It, it sounded like an alcoholic's dream come true."

Eli lowered his head even lower as Sam, rather sharply, asked: "The woman! What about her? Was she really human? Did you leave her there?"

"She, was human. Is human. And in pretty bad shape. I don't know how many customers they'd had but she was severely weakened. I don't know how much longer she will last," Eli admitted. "And that's where you come in."

Both raised their heads and looked expectantly at the Winchesters, Lenore's large, grey eyes resting hopefully on Sam as she said: "You can rescue her, Sam".

The Winchesters were both looking grim as the couple of ex-vampires told them of the Dakota nest and what they could remember about words spoken, the number of members and security features.

"Look", Lenore said after a while, her eyes pleading with them to understand, "we're not heroes, never have been. And we have a new shot at life. Together. We will not assist in a rescue attempt, however worthy the cause… but we would like someone to get her out of there. If she is still alive. The group is still advertising so she should be. And don't get me wrong, we are not ungrateful" she added softly. "But we will not do anything more than pass on the word."

"So you come and drop this in our lap," Dean asked, radiating anger.

Lenore nodded and smiled, ruefully, as she told them the reason they had decided to seek out the brothers: "Because you're the only hunters who ever stopped and thought."

"You know what they say – no good deed goes unpunished" Eli added, looking tired.

When Eli and Lenore had left to go and have their happy end somewhere, their conscious clear, the brothers walked back their hotel room, shopping bags hanging disregarded by their sides. Both deep in thought. As they entered Dean threw the key card on the table and flopped down on his bed while Sam chose the couch. Neither said a word and Sam slid further and further down in depressive thoughts until Dean suddenly, unexpectedly, laughed. Sam sat up straight and looked quizzically at him. It was often so, he thought, that when he only saw the downside to things Dean would always find the light somewhere.

"It's just… you're a damn hero. That's what you are" Dean said, eyes twinkling as he looked at his brother.

"Don't be like that, Dean, please", Sam pleaded in exasperation and a hint of hope. "Just say what you're thinking of." _Show me the light, big brother._

"Well", he answered, his voice teasing, "you are "the Chosen One", "the Only One Who Ever Stopped to Think" and so even vampires show up on our door step to seek help. And you know where thinking always leads?"

"To more trouble," they said in unison, Dean with a smile and Sam with a weary sigh.

But both of them were thinking about the woman, knowing they now had a job to do. Only, it was a job that meant a lot to them, on several different levels. Every hunter's fear was to be exposed to vampire blood and being turned into a beast of darkness, and suddenly maybe there was a cure. If they worked fast enough. If their intelligence was correct. But Eli and Lenore had definitely looked human and not just covered in sunscreen lotion. There was an edge to them that was gone.

Without having uttered a single more word, or even looked at each other, Sam realised that they were both standing by the door with duffels packed, ready to check out and hit the road. Their eyes met and Sam saw the same mild bafflement in Dean's eyes and they shared a knowing smile before they went out the door.

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_They have a case, look at their eyes..._


	10. Reflections in Hell

**Reflections in hell**

Angela was curled up into a ball on the cot again, listening to the now very familiar sound of a handcuff locking her to it. She kept her eyes open until the vampire had walked out the door and locked it behind her. That was the last defence she could keep up – being prepared for evil when it came and not being caught of guard. Because there wasn't a damn thing she could do to protect herself from it. As she heard the click of the lock she closed her eyes and allowed a single tear to fall. Exhausted by sheer fear she didn't notice when she fell asleep or unconscious and started reliving the horror of the first few days. Again.

_It takes 23 sleeplesshours before she is brought to the table. During that time she has wavered between all emotions available to woman, but in the end it's numb despair that wins out. She whimpers and refuses to walk, but is easily dragged, and then flung up and held down as the vampire who tried grabbing her from the car digs his fangs into her throat._

_She is shaking and taking fast, shallow breaths, tears running freely together with her nose as she holds onto her sanity with all she has. Her body feels stiff as a board and her hands are clenched into fists as the vampire slowly, with every sign of enjoyment, sucks the life out of her body... and suddenly chokes and falls away in violent spasms! Big commotion all around and Angela bolts upright and makes to jump off the table but is caught in midjump and brought to halt._

_The courage she has resolved to show is momentarily shattered as the experience doesn't go as she had prepared for. The vampire is lying on the floor, clutching at his throat, behaving as if he has swallowed acid. She is roughly thrown back in chains as the others try to help their fallen brother. She shakes terribly as she listens to them yelling, but it isn't until the middle of the night that the full truth has been uncovered – the vampire is a vampire no longer. He can't hear heartbeats, doesn't even have the holes where the fangs used to be and can't smell blood. Not even when they bring out the woman. The others drain her blood in a coffee cup and gives to him, like chicken soup and much for the same reason. But he gags at the taste and smell. He is given more vampire blood but nothing helps, the man simply isn't a vampire anymore. And it's her fault. And he wants to kill her! He comes in and..._

A strand of wet hair fell across her face, cool and refreshing, jolting her awake from that nightmare into another one. It's still dripping wet from the shower. It had been the third all too necessary shower she had had to take since her imprisonment. It is also a mark that meant that her fourth lifetime as a vampire coven's? pack's? nest's? lair's? _if only she knew what it's called!_ prisoner had begun. Three times already she had become so dirty and dishevelled that even vampires were bound to notice. And though they didn't exactly fall all over themselves to make her comfortable and noticeably try to make her live longer, they hadn't neglected her basic needs either. Soup and sandwiches were forced down her throat if she didn't eat them, tours to the bathroom were relentlessly taken, bandages covered the numerous puncture wounds and three times she had been shoved into a shower with instructions to do a proper job of it. There hadn't been a single thing she could have done to resist. All she could do was try to protect her sanity.

And the blood sucking. She shivered. All too often she was dragged somewhere, always in the middle of the night, to some place where one or several vampires bit and drained her. And never, never any help in sight. Never an end. Though of course, she knew she was getting really weak and her best hope was to lose enough blood that her heart stopped. She shivered and clung tighter to herself. Somewhere she found the energy again to whisper the prayer that was now part of her every breath: "_Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name_" _Oh lord oh lord, help me! Can't someone please HELP ME!_


	11. Battleplan

**Battleplan**

It wasn't possible to talk to Dean before he had navigated them outside of Chicago since he was too busy yelling at the other drivers who were used to the fast pace and knew where all the lanes lead. Sam just sat back and enjoyed the show too, wondering if he would survive asking how long it had been since his brother checked his blood pressure. But once safe beyond the city limits Dean quickly calmed down and started enjoying the drive again.

"So what's our plan?" Dean asked as he took a curve too fast.

Sam hadn't said a word since they left the hotel room but he didn't hesitate now: "We need help" he said. "It's as simple as that. If Lenore is right they are too many and too well organised".

"Is there anyone we can trust?" Dean asked out loud. "If this woman is alive we must get her out of there, but if we want her to stay safe afterwards we can't drag the wrong people into this hunt. She might get in danger again if someone talks. We can't allow her to be a target for vampires."

"But let's not forget that if what Lenore and Eli said is true, then she can help hunters," Sam argued without heat. "Wouldn't they all want to know she is out there? Don't we have a responsibility to tell the hunters we know that they don't have to hesitate about going after vampires anymore than other beings? You KNOW a lot of hunters skip by vampire trails. Not because they are afraid to die but because they are afraid of becoming vampires."

Dean nodded, they both knew that they had been thinking about it and just needed to get it out there. Sam waited silently for Dean to take up the next logical step in their plan, but his thoughts seemed derailed so after a while Sam had to continue: "So… I guess we need to start by finding out who this woman is", he said and brought up the laptop.

Dean nodded absentmindedly again, still thinking, as Sam tapped into the various databases he used to find missing persons and entered what little information they had to narrow it down. It was a tedious but necessary task and the only sound in the car was the clicking of the computer and Dean's humming as he considered various allies and the pros and cons of asking someone to be in on the hunt. No one had attention to spare to put on music and the Impala covered mile after mile in its silent, flawless stride, allowing the two hunters to prepare for the battle ahead.


	12. Lost and Found

**Lost and found**

They had driven almost to Dakota before they stopped and checked into a motel. By unspoken agreement they made it a little better one than what they normally chose. The hotel stay had been too brief and they missed Ellen's home cooking and so wanted some comfort. Not that they noticed because they fell asleep as soon as they got in.

Next morning they woke up too early and they knew that they would have to make up for the sleep before the mission. But first they had to find out who they were looking for and if there were any surprises ahead.

"Eureka" Sam exclaimed and Dean quickly spit out his toothpaste and came to find out what Sam was excited about.

"Here. It says an Angela Morrison, 31, disappeared from Arden three months ago. Her car was found abandoned and driven into a tree on a small road some 5 miles from her home. She was on her way to a date but didn't get there. The guy she was meeting went to the police when he saw her picture in the paper. He thought she had stood him up since that was to be their first date. That was why he didn't report her missing. The police were treating him as a suspect at first but he is off the hook now. Present theory is she has committed suicide somewhere. That first she tried by crashing the car and then, having failed, she went into the forest to get lost. They are basing this on what the ex-fiancé said. According to him she "lost her mind" and left him after two perfect years." Sam read.

They looked at the picture of Angela Morison and remembered how Lenore and Eli had described her. The best detail they had been able to give was the mass of dark, curly hair and the thin nose. These were clear in the photo but also height and weight seemed to match. They now had a name and a face on the woman they were to rescue and both wondered if she would look anything like her smiling picture when they found her.

"So, we better hit the local store and find that cabbage that Ellen didn't have, we're packing for vampires." Sam said, grabbing his jacket. "If we're to hang around a nest we better not smell."

"Fine by me" Dean said and took his jacket too, following his brother. He wondered why Sam was so hot on this hunt, he was used to being the one in charge but there had been something restless about Sam the whole time. He resolved to keep an extra eye on his brother, to make sure he didn't do anything unexpectedly stupid. He preferred to know what Sam was about to do.


	13. Midnight Meeting

**Midnight meeting**

When the vampires opened the garage door outside of the barn somewhere around midnight the Winchesters were ready to follow. They had had no trouble finding the nest – Lenore and Eli's road map had been easy to follow - and they were waiting for the vampires just outside their range of hearing. Dean was driving and Sam was reading the map, making sure they were far behind when there were no other roads they could take, and close when the roads split. It took their complete attention but they managed to stay unnoticed. They followed them until they parked and then snuck after them, far to their left against the wind, and found themselves a good place to hide just in time.

Dean ducked behind the tree as the first vampire came out into the clearing, automatically reaching out to Sam to make sure he did the same. Sam spared a split second of his attention to be annoyed in, would Dean ever allow him to grow up? But then again, this was how they always did things and he wasn't about to change a winning tactic in the middle of a hunt. From where they kneeled down, thankful for the herbs they'd burned to disguise their scent, they got a good look at the procession.

Both brothers held really good binoculars with night vision, army issue complete with darkened glass that wouldn't give any reflections, but it was still difficult to see the individuals' faces clearly enough to judge their reactions. The small sound enhancer worked really well though so they wouldn't miss any of their words.

At the front the leader of the nest walked, there was no question about it. The cocky attitude, the sure steps, the head held high and the absolute confidence he exuded in every movement. A definite Alpha. He was also possibly the thinnest man they had ever seen. He called out towards the other end of the clearing, looking at a point the brothers couldn't see from their position.

"Hey little ones, come on out. You got the money?"

There was a distant rustle of footfalls in the dry leaves and then a young couple, well, a young-looking couple anyway, came into view. Vampires would look the age they were when they were turned so they could easily be a century old, but something in their stance told the Winchesters that these were of quite recent date. They weren't holding hands but they looked as if they wanted to.

Dean clamped down on his own compassion and glanced at Sam and felt a tightening in his throat as Sam's whole face was looking mushy. He quickly turned his eyes towards the clearing again, afraid to meet Sam's eyes. _Jeez kid, get used to it already. There is no room for sympathy with monsters_; he thought, carefully not exploring his own feelings.

The girl had been carrying a bag and, with a look they were too far away to read, she threw it at the feet of the second vampire to step up just behind the leader. Dean nodded to himself as he deciphered her body language - she was doing this for the guy's sake. Though if that was as much a cover to hide her own wishes behind as Dean did behind Sam he couldn't tell.

"It's all in there" she said, sounding as confident and bored as she could.

The leader didn't move, just focused his whole attention on her for a couple of seconds, until she let her shoulders fall, turned away slightly and looked down. Clearly satisfied that he had established his dominance he gestured slightly to the man behind him, who took up the bag and quickly looked through it before moving back among the trees. Dean and Sam filed away the leader's behaviour; know thine enemy and all that.

The young man hadn't moved except to nervously change feet, scuffing up the ground. The brothers exchanged a look which shared the surprise at how such a nervous, sorry excuse for a vampire had survived at all, let alone been able to set up a meeting with a powerful nest leader. As they looked back again the scene had changed because suddenly the clearing seemed filled with vampires. They hastily, thanks to years of training, put a lid on their surprise so their increase in heart rate wouldn't alert the vampires, and made a quick count. Eleven, including the leader and the young couple. Then Sam gripped Dean's arm and squeezed hard, pulling him closer to him so he could see what he saw. Two of the vampires were holding on to one of the women, seemingly keeping her upright. And for the same reason the brothers could tell the others were vampires, they immediately knew this one wasn't. They had found Angela.

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_I know there are things I could do better. Don't hesitate to tell me._


	14. A Hair of the Dog

**A hair of the dog**

The Winchesters crouched even lower on the ground as the leader gestured towards the two vampires to step forward. The young couple seemed to shrink and took what seemed to be an involuntary step closer to each other; she backwards and he forwards, placing them almost level. Almost. The brothers noticed that the woman was partially shielding the man and they discarded the assumption that they were lovers and decided that they were probably siblings. _Poor kids!_ Sam thought.

Dean looked closely through the binoculars at the leader, searching for what he knew would come, and he wasn't disappointed; the evil grin showed up as scheduled. "And cue the villain" he muttered, below his breath, and received an automatic kick in the shin by Sam, who immediately cursed himself for falling back in a childish manner when he had intended to make Dean quit with his own protect-Sammy-routine. But then again Dean deserved a kick in the shin for always being the wise-ass, he thought glumly. His thoughts hadn't distracted him from what was going on and he now noticed, with an uneasy clenching of his gut, that they were bringing the woman to the middle of the clearing.

"Alright, who will dig in first?" the leader asked. He was obviously relishing the couple's reluctance and Sam gritted his teeth.

Dean thought _bastard_ loud enough that he wondered that it didn't reach the group. The girl, probably knowing that she was stronger than the guy, took a hesitant step forward.

"What's the cure?" she wondered, keeping a wary eye on the woman.

"She is. All you have got to do is dig in" the leader said. The other vampires laughed at her nervousness. "Or are you on the wagon as well? Tough, because this is the only way."

The girl didn't look back at the guy, but when he stepped forward she found his hand without looking. Then she seemed to reach a decision and let go and walked up to the prisoner. Angela's head was hanging down and the hair covered her so they couldn't read her face, but she didn't struggle as the girl tilted her head and sunk her teeth in. They weren't sure she was really awake. After a short while, during which both brothers had to force themselves to stay put and breath, the other vampires let go and the girl-vampire held her up. Then suddenly she started cramping and Angela slowly, very slowly, fell to her knees. Head lolling forward again. The girl continued to cramp in front of her and the guy stood rooted to the spot, clearly terrified.

"Dean!" Sam whispered in a fearful voice that made him sound much, much younger.

"Shhhh" Dean whispered, "she was standing up on her own a minute ago, she can take two of them."

Sam hoped to God Dean was right. He had NOT come this far to see her die in front of his eyes. And somewhere he knew that Dean was probably right. Unless they had penetrated the aorta she wouldn't bleed out that quickly. He drew another breath and tried to calm himself. Dean clenched his jaws so hard they hurt not to make a sound of worry. Of course he was worried, but it was his job to be reassuring. And he'd carry it out.

The woman was still cramping and vomiting and the vampires were watching the weaker guy with scorn, silently wondering how long it would take before he ran off and left the girl. But they were wrong because instead of retreating the guy stepped forward and kneeled to the side of Angela and did exactly the same as the girl had. A minute later he was cramping and vomiting too and Angela lay unmoving on the ground.

"So there, you got what you paid for. Be sure to show your receipt if you're unhappy with your purchase" the leader said and his followers erupted in a dutiful resounding laugh. One of them picked up Angela and carried her off over his shoulder and they left.

The Winchesters stayed where they were. They were fairly certain the Dakota Fangs were going to go back to the ranch house and they wanted to know if the two vampires on the ground were going to make it. They had to wait for four hours before the couple stirred again and then they just sat there, clutching at their stomachs and wiping off the vomit as best they could before getting up their nerves to check if they were still vampires. When they started to talk it was really low but thanks to the sound enhancer they could hear them just fine. And it was obvious that the cure had worked! The Winchesters breathed easier and silently celebrated the existence of a cure. The two ex-vampires were left alone as the brothers silently left the scene, never knowing how close they came to get killed on general principles.


	15. Who You Gonna Call

**Who you gonna call**

The brothers called the twins Jack and Mack on the way back to the motel, and when they heard that the Winchesters had a nest of vampires they wanted help with cleaning out they promised to come straight away. Sam hung up with a sense of relief; it felt good to have those two experienced hunters at their back.

Next morning they met for breakfast, the twins having driven the whole night to get there, and after Dean promised to pay for it they gobbled enough for eight people while the brothers filled them in.

"A cure, hm?" Jack said, thoughtfully chewing on his seventh strip of bacon, Sam was keeping a fascinated count, and looked out the window.

"Ain't no cure for that disease, boys" Mack said and shook his head while mashing ketchup into his scrambled eggs. "But we'll help you clean out the nest and rescue the girl, no doubt."

"I'm not gonna argue with you, guys" Dean said reasonably, "but it sure seemed as if it did. Anyway, we are agreed that we have a nest to take care of so we'd better lay some plans here. Our last mission worked really well and I propose a similar plan."

Sam took out his notebook and they drew a map and explained the layout and the possible entrances they had found. The twins let the Winchesters do most of the talking but were amazing at spotting flaws and adding twists as they went along. Dean and Sam were awed by their experience and readily agreed to every change. When they were done Dean pulled out a credit card and paid for a breakfast for four at 163 dollars. He silently wondered what their dinner would amount to.

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A couple of hours later, a little past three in the afternoon, the Winchesters and the twins were lying in the high grass on a ridge overlooking the ranch house. All of them smelled like cabbage after having boiled it for the scent confusion, that Ellen had jokingly put on the label for the herb jar, and Dean wondered if he'd ever be able to get the smell out of the Impala. It would probably need a can of ozone to get it out of the seats. Sam was intent on the twins who were operating a thermal scanner that would show them how many people were in the house.

"But how will you be able to tell how many vampires there are?" Sam asked. "Do they even have body heat? The ones I have known have been rather cold."

"Of course they have body heat, son" Mack answered while fiddling with another dial. "How else do you think the dead man's blood gets around in them, if they don't have a pulse?"

"Actually, the temperature of a vampire is a steady 15 degrees Celsius" Jack said, sounding like a biology professor.

The Winchesters exchanged a look and Dean asked: "Ehrm, and you know this because you, er…?"

"It's our business to know, that's how we know." Mack said, virtuously. Jack nodded but grinned, mischief in his eyes as he dared them to ask.

Dean and Sam decided that they did NOT want to know how they had found out and kept their eyes on the nest until the twins were done. Then they looked at the screen which showed nine humanoid figures. Eight of them a pale green, all in the same room, and one of them an orange blob, like a figure curled up, alone at the end of the house. They were all on the same level. With the image in front of them they polished the plan and went back to get the gear in the cars.


	16. Best Laid Plans

**Best laid plans**

Dean climbed through the high on the second story, landing on a balcony which overlooked the main room. At the same time Jack and Mack climbed in through windows on the ground level, Dean could see them as well as a sleeping vampire downstairs from his lofty perch. This nest looked roughly the same as the others he had been in and he had time to make the reflection that all animals of the same sort seem to make their homes in the same way - before hell broke loose. Because not all the vampires were sleeping.

Dean fell under a sudden attack from the left as a vampire, with unnatural speed and a scream of predatory intent barreled into him. Dean twisted before impact with the floor so he remained in control of one arm, and he used it grab the vampire's long, flowing hair in a death grip and pull his face onto his chest where he closed his fangs on his jugular at the same time as he squeezed a syringe filled with dead man's blood into his neck. It took two seconds, long as eternity itself, for the poison to make it to her head. But since it was spiced with a tranquilizer for elephants he didn't tear out his throat as he succumbed and Dean had to pry him loose with a grunt of pain. He didn't have time to do it carefully and neither did he worry about a scar because the vampire's scream had alerted the ones that had been sleeping.

Looking down from the balcony he saw that two of the vampires that had been sleeping were still in their beds, two darts penetrating the skin of the face of one of them. The other one had made it halfway out before falling victim to the poison in his dart, but was shakily pulling it out as Dean watched. He quickly aimed and fired another dart in his unprotected back and watched as the vampire wildly tried to get it. But it had been planted in the middle of his back and his motions were already stiff, and he fell unconscious without reaching it.

Another vampire was pushing Mack further and further back against the wall with one lunge after another that Mack parried with his long, wooden dart gun. Dean was certain he would eventually have been able to release the loaded dart into the vampire, if it hadn't been for the other one that attacked from the side and shoved his legs away from under him. Dean didn't have time to sound a warning before Mack went down hard and both vampires fell on him. Dean cursed and reloaded.

While Mack had been battling two vampires so had Jack and he had been forced to aim for cover behind the kitchen counter. As Dean watched one of them managed to get a hold of his leg, and Jack made a flip that would have done a thirty year old younger man green with envy, and pushed a syringe into the crook of the vampire's arm. And he made it look easy. The vampire started clawing at it and then fell into violent spasms while Jack made it to cover. The other vampire stood prepared to make a dive across the counter when a call from one of the doors leading into a bedroom made everyone freeze.

The head vampire, having hid behind his underlings in the best tradition of tyrants everywhere, came out from behind the door where he had fortified himself. The reason he suddenly had decided to join the fray on the front was very apparent – he had acquired a human shield. Sam stood awkwardly bent with one of his arms locked behind his back and his head pressed onto the left shoulder of his captor, leaving his upturned, unprotected throat dangerously close to the exposed fangs. Not that he would die from blood loss if this went awry, but the image he had created of who was in control was crystal clear. The stick thin body of the leader was easily covered by Sam's muscular one, but there was no question of who possessed the greatest strength. Sam was pale and sweating and his eyes were barely slits since he was concentrating on battling the pain that coursed through him with every forced movement.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Put down those weapons and come out and I MAY be persuaded to be merciful," he called out, voice dripping with false honey and honest glee.

For a split second Dean felt a nauseating jolt of remembered fear, and the image he saw in front of him was superimposed on another. It had been just a short time after he had gone and collected Sam from Stanford, and they had had that stand-off with the vampire that had the Colt, and he had gotten a hold of Sam's neck, just like this. He had threatened to break it and Dean had known he could do it as well. Hell, he would even have enjoyed doing it, especially in front of his brother. He had stopped just like this then too, weighing his odds. And then dad had shot the vampire. But that was then and this was now. Dad wasn't around anymore and Sam had been out of practice then. Today he wasn't. Dean rose slowly from behind the sofa, the gun pointing straight at the vampire's head. The vampire laughed with contempt:

"Honestly, hunter. You should know that your bullets don't make a dent worth mentioning in our bodies."

Dean looked uncertain and then his features hardened again, the aim never wavering.

"I have seen this gun stopping werewolves in mid pounce" he answered, "I think it will take care of you as well. I would have shot you already if I didn't think your uncontrolled death throes would snap his neck. You look pretty frail." He paused and then added: "Do you think you will pee yourself?"

The vampire was enjoying his position; it was always such a pleasure to taunt your impotent victims. And this one would fall hard since he didn't know how far out of his depths he was. Oh yes, he would have fun with this one. Dean concentrated on the leader's eyes and tried to shut out Sam from his field of vision.

"Frail, is it? Go on, shoot me. See what your little toy gun can do. And then fall down and beg for your lives."

He let go of Sam's hair and Sam immediately turned the back of his neck towards the vampire, leaning as far away from his head as he could. Dean didn't waste any time and the vampire smiled when Dean put a bullet between his eyes. He was still smiling when he hit the floor as so much dead weight, releasing Sam as he went down.

The two vampires who had been keeping Mack down were taken completely by surprise by their leader's demise. They had both stopped their own attack and Mack had been able to wrench free. They had time to bitterly regret that since he had used his freedom to come up with two of the blood-filled syringes and he now plunged them into their bodies with all the force he could muster. Judging by their screams it was quite a lot. The woman got it in the thigh and the man in the throat. Both of them writhed around on the ground for a couple of seconds before they went deathly still.

The one that had been about to jump over the kitchen counter was met by Jack's newfound meat cleaver that shivered in her lower abdomen. That confused her while Jack calmly aimed and shot a dart in her eye. She stilled at the same time as the other two vampires and all at once the battle field was quiet and filled with enemy bodies.

Dean smiled grimly and looked up to meet his brother's eyes. Sam drew a deep breath and nodded to the unspoken question. Their plan had worked and he was fine.

"Thank you, Ellen." Dean murmured and patted his gun.

"Hot damn, that was wild Bill shooting that was", Mack exclaimed, coming up as quickly as a jack-in-the-box and grinning just as wide. He dusted off his breeches and didn't look at all troubled by the two ghastly gaping wounds below his collar bones that showed through the torn flannel shirt.

Jack came out from behind the kitchen counter, covered in darkish stains that made Sam take two quick steps towards him before he realised it wasn't his blood, saying:

"Sure was, a real cowboy this one. Finding just the right spot to place the spur and charge him over the cliff."

He sounded excited. He didn't look at his twin as he spoke, he was grinning towards the brothers, but that didn't stop him from unwrapping the medical kit he carried around his waist and take out a roll of bandages. He then quickly made his way over the debris towards Mack, who sat down on a handy chair and let his brother administer to the wound. Dean and Sam watched them in fascination for a couple of seconds before Sam shook himself and looked around at the vampires strewn across the floor. Some of them were moving slightly and they needed to find Angela.

"Need any help with that?" Dean asked Jack and indicated the dressing.

"Nah, we've done it before. But with all the blood around here we better get it covered straight off." Jack answered tranquilly.

"And if can't keep still he'll hit me over the head with something hard" Mack added, sounding equally calm.

Sam went into the leader's den and fetched his gun. Despite being practically impervious to bullets he had disarmed Sam first thing when he had come in through the window. Probably to make him feel more vulnerable. Sam suppressed a shudder at the feeling of those fangs pressing against his neck. He knew he would remember them in his dreams again. As he came back into the main room Dean had climbed down from the balcony and checked that his special gun was loaded.

"Down the hall, Dean?" Sam asked and went off, Dean following him.


	17. The Rescue

**The rescue**

Both were pretty sure they had got all the monsters but one can't be too careful, that was a lesson they had learnt long ago. As they cautiously made their way toward the door behind which their equipment told them there would be a human, Dean couldn't help but voice his concern.

"Sure you're ok, Sammy? It looked kinda nasty, the hold he had."

"Dean, I'm fine. I wanted to be the bait, you know I insisted. And he took it, hook, line and sinker. I just walked in and he grabbed me straight away, spouting his evil villain speech about how I was a "juicy fly" that had "stumbled across his web" and if I were lucky he'd make me a vampire. You know how they work, they all like power," Sam said dismissively.

"Yeah, I know I agreed to the plan, but we COULD have overestimated him and he could have killed you straight of."

Sam just gave an annoyed sigh that said, plain as words, that he wasn't interested in talking about how it might have gone wrong since it hadn't. They had played the odds and won. In his mind it had been practically a given that he would be taken hostage and draw out the leader in the open, and he knew that Dean agreed since he wouldn't have let him do it otherwise.

They had reached the end of the hallway and according to the thermal scanner there should be a human behind the door. A living one. She had been alive a few hours ago, at least. Sam was uncharacteristically eager and shoved Dean aside to kick in the door.

"Wait!" Dean called but Sam had already put his boot to the lock and the door was breaking. He shook his head and followed Sam in. For all his brother's sensitivity and intelligence it obviously didn't occur to him to knock and identify themselves as the good guys. If the woman was Angela and she was lucid, odds were she would be a devastated bundle of nerves and getting the door kicked in wouldn't help to remedy that.

Sam realised this a few seconds after Dean did, and remained standing just inside the door instead of charging further in. And that was probably just as well since Angela... He recognized her because of her hair only because her face was a mask of such terror that had never graced any photo of her. Sam swallowed and belatedly tried some reassurance.

"Angela? We are here to help," he said. Dean squeezed around him into the room, gun back in the holster.

"Dude, gun" he said in a low voice and nudged Sam. Sam put it in his holster too and took a hesitant step towards the bed, only to freeze in his track by the whimper emanating from there. Dean gritted his teeth. He wanted to go over and pick her up, but there was something going on with Sam. He needed this rescue badly and Dean didn't know exactly why, but he wouldn't stand in the way. He gave Angela a reassuring smile and said, in an unnecessarily loud voice, the one you use for the stupid or hard of hearing, completed with exaggerated gestures, from the door:

"Angela, this tall freak is my brother, he's ok. All the nasty bloodsuckers are down. I will go back and make sure our friends are alright." And with that he left, giving Sam an encouraging elbow in the side as he turned and left.

For some reason Dean's words, which had been neither soft nor avoided the topic "vampires" had calmed Angela a bit. She was still breathing quick and shallow, shaking, but the mask of terror had subsided a bit and Sam was grateful to see only fearful panic there instead. He took a leaf out his big brothers book and gave her a confident smile, letting his shoulders relax as he took two long strides over to her, calmly placing his hand on her back despite her flinch.

"Angela Morrison? That is your name, right?" he asked as he sought her eyes. A flicker in them told him "yes" and he widened his smile. "I am Sam Winchester and I will be your rescuer today. Does it hurt anywhere? Do you think you can stand?"

Angela first stopped breathing for a couple of beats and then drew a deep, shaky breath and whispered:

"I asked for a knight on a white horse. Is it parked outside?"

Sam couldn't help himself, he laughed so loud she twitched again but then relaxed more against him as she started to giggle and then to cry helplessly. Sam helped her to sit up and lean against him as he murmured soothing words and eyed the handcuff with a trained eye. The lock pick in his pocket would make short work of that and the woman, Angela, would be ok. He had helped save one life and possibly many more. Something inside him that had been clamouring for weeks was suddenly quiet and he felt at peace.


	18. Cleaning Up

**Cleaning up**

Jack was just tying the last of the bandage when Dean came back into the room and looked around. Most of the vampires were twitching by now and even though they wouldn't be going anywhere for another half hour they couldn't let the time go to waste. But Jack insisted on pushing Dean onto another chair and to take care of his torn up wrist, that he couldn't remember tearing, and his dripping throat.

"I've had far worse, man. It's ok" Dean protested as Jack ordered him to sit down.

"I'm sure you have, Winchester" Mack grinned while he enjoyed looking at someone else being pushed around by his brother, "but Jack won't let you touch a vampire as long as you're bleeding. It's because he's such an old woman."

"You are older than me, brother," Jack answered automatically while he gave Dean a far more competent assessment than he could remember being given in a clinic. "How is the girl?"

"She's a mess but she's alive. Sam's taking care of her," Dean answered while apprehensively following the deftly moving needle. Jack was working way too fast for comfort, but he had to admit he was doing a great job. He didn't look forward to having stitches done on his throat though and he hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

It took Jack roughly 10 minutes to patch up the older Winchester and in the meantime Mack kept an eye on the vampires and the door, the dart gun held steady despite his paleness. Dean kept an ear out for any sounds from the hallway. He was certain Sam was doing a good job, but until he saw them both come out, preferably walking, he wouldn't relax. He kept glancing over towards the dead-NOT-to-rise again leader, and trying to remind himself that Sam was ok. He was already resigning himself to the nightmares that would undoubtedly follow his decision to let Sam go with his crazy plan for being bait.

When Jack declared Dean fit to touch contagious, somewhat living corpses, he immediately rose and took out the machete. Since they were enough people to behead the bodies Mack stayed on his chair. Dean debated whether to go down the hall and check on his brother or just get the business done before they had to lead Angela through the room. His decision was interrupted by Jack who handed him a doctor's mask to protect his mouth.

"You've GOT to be kidding me" Dean exclaimed.

"Old woman, like I said" Mack chuckled.

Dean donned the mask with a shake of his head, after all the twins were probably lot older than his dad and they were still alive. He and Jack chose a vampire each and went off to start the chopping. Dean chose the man who had attacked him as he came in through the window. He was gurgling and glaring, trying to get some words out. Though they weren't audible Dean had a pretty good idea of what they were. But he bit back his answer. He was about to send him into oblivion after all and he didn't feel the need to taunt his enemies once they were beaten. This vampire was simply a monster and soon he would be a pile of dust.

He rolled him onto his stomach and brought the blade down hard, almost managing to sever the head completely from the body. Another few hacks and it rolled away. It was disgusting but satisfying and he dragged the body onto the edge:

"Bomb's away" he called and let it fall over, followed by the head. Nothing like a little black humour to keep thoughts and emotions at bay.

Jack had taken care of his vampire as well and was dragging the body into the middle of the room. That was where they'd start the fire as soon as they were all beheaded. Mack looked pleased and when Dean reached the bottom he said:

"Three down and five to go, you Winchesters are wicked with a sharp blade. Almost as good as my brother and I".

"Right back at ya, old man" he answered, making a sloppy salute as he moved over to the vampire with a dart twitching in her eye.

Just then Sam came out, supporting Angela. Dean stopped and put the machete on the kitchen counter to give her a friendly wave, pulling down his doctor's mask so she could see his face. Jack waved his bloody katana in the air but looked otherwise remarkably harmless. He also removed the mask. Mack grinned in a welcoming fashion and said:

"And if this isn't the princess we were sent to rescue. How are you feeling, girl? Is that young man treating you ok?"

"He better or we'll have words" Jack added.

Angela had clearly been crying and she was still trembling and hung onto Sam's arm as if she was about to drown. Sam on his part kept her close, trying to cancel out her vibrations with his own steadiness. Dean's assessment had been astute – she was a mess. Only time would tell if she'd be able to put the past few months behind her and live in a semblance of normality.

Though she wasn't as stick thin as the people that were liberated from the World War II concentration camps, that was exactly what the hunters thought of when they saw her. That aura of intense desperation and wild eyed fear was almost strong enough to knock Dean back. Sam had been doing a good job to get her to lean on him. Dean sent him an approving look that was met with a scowl.

"Alright, we're just wrapping it up", Mack said. "Why don't you and I hobble out to the car and let these young heroes clean up. There's no need for princesses to see that."

Angela stifled a shudder and looked the older man up and down, took in his injuries and tried to figure out if he would be as good a protector as the one she was clinging to, while taking a firmer grip on Sam's arm. Having reached a decision she shook her head, body language and a flicker of pain on Sam's face as she doubled the strength of her grip telling them she wouldn't let him out of her sight. Sam led her to a chair by the wall and talked quietly to her for a minute before she let go and then she curled up into a ball, eyes following Sam. It hurt the hunters' hearts to see her and they wondered if they had been on time for this one or not.

Sam went up to Mack and Dean and Jack congregated there too. It was obvious that he had something he wanted to talk to them about.

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	19. Battle of Wills

**Battle of wills**

"Look, we can't kill these vampires." Sam said in a low voice.

"Why?" Dean asked incredulously, trying to keep his voice down too. "You know what they've done. You've SEEN what they've done. Why can't we kill them?"

The twins were exchanging thoughtful looks and Dean felt as if he had missed something. Possibly a whole book. Why would they spare the vampires? Sam looked as if he was trying to put an impossible thing into words and Dean felt his anger and confusion rising. Already some of the bastards were healing and though he had no qualms about killing monsters it made a gruesome task more unnerving still if the thing was moving. In his opinion they couldn't get this over with fast enough. And the woman needed some serious help. Preferably a month ago!

"We can't just kill them," Sam said, slowly exhaling while he thought, "because someone else made them monsters. They were people once. And we have the cure now." He tried looking determined and confident but couldn't quite meet Dean's eyes.

"Are you telling me," Dean asked, slowly, "that we should ask that woman to let these bloodsuckers have one last bite? You can't be serious!" He stared at his brother and the twins in turns, expecting them to come to their senses. "That's like asking a, a, a rape victim to let them do her one last time, so they'll get it out of their system!"

Sam hunched in on himself, shoulders up as if he was standing outside in a cold, gushing rain storm. Dean recognised the stance well; it meant that he had made a decision he knew wasn't going to be popular but he would stick by it anyway. He cast a glance at Angela who hadn't moved, but she was too far away to hear them. Why did he have to explain this to Sam? He drew breath to try again but was interrupted by Mack:

"You're right, son. We can't kill them," he said, "not now."

"Not if you've seen it work. Did it really work?" Jack wanted to know again. He sounded like a child who has been told there will be a monster truck at the fair, but can't quite believe his luck.

Sam nodded and Dean made an impatient affirmative gesture. Whether it worked or not was NOT the issue here. Why couldn't they see that?

"They deserve a chance. At least… at least they'll die human" Sam said. "No one asked them to be monsters. They weren't given a choice. Someone, someone really evil dripped blood in their mouths and they were just acting they way the blood took them."

Sam looked straight at Dean while he tried to explain and Dean grew red with anger, embarrassment, fear and despair. He knew exactly what Sam was trying to tell him. He identified with the vampires because the same thing had happened to him. Azazel, Yellow Eyes, had dripped blood into his mouth when he was a helpless baby. And that had marked him, given him abilities, and predestined him to be a leader of Hell's armies. But Sam had resisted! Just like Lenore and Eli and their nest had. There was NO resemblance between Sam and these monsters and he would make him see it, one way or the other. He just had to try harder. Dean shook his head - these bastards were going down.

"Dean." Jack said gently and Dean started. Neither of the twins had used their names up until then. It had been "kid", "son" and "boy" the whole trip. He was unnerved enough to lose the statement he had been working on, and listened to Jack.

"We, Mack and I, we're not twins." he said.

Sam stared as hard at them as Dean did. They looked identical. And what did that have to do with anything? Mack nodded in understanding towards them and took over:

"We are triplets. Our brother Donovan… was turned when we were nineteen." Mack looked grey instead of pale now, and suddenly much, much older. Jack put a hand on his shoulder and said softly:

"We hunted him down. He didn't want to kill us. He wanted to turn us. We… overpowered him, we knew all his weaknesses after all. And we kept him locked up for four years. We searched everywhere. Everywhere. For a cure. For some hope. We tried… a lot of horrible remedies." Jack stared into the distance, remembering things he wasn't going to share, and continued; "But there wasn't any. And finally, we put our brother out of his misery."

Mack nodded solemnly and added: "That's why we hunt vampires. That's why I agree that we can't kill these, not if it works. Not until we've asked the girl." He glanced over at her with a look of concern and added in a lower voice "though I wish she was in better condition."

Dean was speechless and Sam looked dangerously close to tears. He turned towards Dean and pleaded silently with him. _There's gotta be hope!_ His eyes begged him to believe it and Dean shook his head in defeat and glanced around at the five "living" vampires and then turned to Angela. Looking at her terrified, abused form he said, not without vindictiveness:

"Fine. YOU ask her!" and stalked off to drag the leader he had shot to the middle of the floor together with the two beheaded ones. Though it wasn't necessary he wildly started cutting at his neck.

He couldn't believe they would ask her to do a thing like that and he wanted no part of it. If she could help hunters or innocent victims, sure, but not her, her… he gave up thinking and continued steaming.

Sam and the others stood in silence for a few seconds, steeling their resolve. Then Jack gave him a comforting, get-on-with-it pat on the back and went to collect one of the living ones to drag to the heap. They couldn't allow any of them to get away and they needed to have them in one place so they could make sure. Mack nodded and Sam went over to Angela and sat down next to her and murmured so low the others couldn't hear. At one point there was a thin scream. It sounded as if it came from someone who has reached the end of their rope and doesn't really believe in screaming anymore, but has encountered one last evil so black that it is the only possible reaction. Or that's how Dean translated it. He stood poised to run over and intervene before she had a heart attack, but he needn't have worried. Angela was still holding on to Sam so he hade kept her trust.

Jack traded a glance with him and dragged the last of the vampires to the heap, absentmindedly kicking aside a flailing hand that tried to pull him down. The vampires were weak but stirring. Dean joined the brothers and waited. He didn't know what he wanted to happen.

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	20. Last Supper

**Last supper**

After a few more minutes Sam rose, bringing Angela over to the others.

"She'll do it" he said. Dean noted with satisfaction that he looked really ill, but not more than Angela.

"Are you absolutely sure, angel?" Jack asked, reminding everyone of the kind-hearted old man cliché from the movies. If Sam hadn't seen him wielding that meat cleaver or put a dart in the vampire's eye he would have sworn on a stack of religious paraphernalia that he had never even thought of hurting anyone. He decided to be really careful with his prejudice in the future.

Angela shook but managed to nod, shyly raising her head to peek out at them from under the curtain of hair.

"We'll give them a choice" she whispered. "I can do that much."

Sam considered her pale hands on his dirty shirt and wondered how much blood she could stand to lose. He turned to find his brother gaze at him, expression closed and unreadable. Did Dean understand? Would he ever? Sam knew he would do anything, absolutely anything for him. But rather than his tolerance, right now he wanted Dean to support his decision. Not against his better judgement. He wanted them to be in this together.

But Dean's expression didn't change, he just turned his attention to the vampires and chose the one that had tried grabbing Jack's leg and pulled him aside. Jack came after and they pinned the man's arms painfully to the floor by placing their knees on them, making sure he couldn't raise his head more than an inch or two. Jack laid his katana on his throat and Dean took a firm grip on his hair and yanked it back so the throat came into contact with it, reminding the vampire that his immortality was at stake.

"Alright you pig." Dean growled. "The lady is more merciful than you will ever deserve. So we'll give you a choice. Are you listening?"

The glare was pure hatred and Dean continued: "Either you take the cure or you die. Decide now."

The humans all held their breaths as the helplessly struggling vampire fought their hold and then, knowing he had lost, used the last of his stolen seconds to cause a little more damage: "She's been made filthy by too many already. I won't touch her."

Sam felt Angela jump at the deadly insult and then even her tremors subsided as she stood completely still, not even breathing.

"Kill it" Sam said, ice cold fury running through his veins and Angela took another shuddering breath.

Dean and Jack were all too happy to comply and they donned their masks and turned him over. The vampire was laughing weakly as they brought down their blades and in two tremendous blows cut his lease on life.

"Four down, four to go." Mack mumbled.

Jack chose the next one and it was the one with a meat cleaver in her abdomen and a dart in her eye. He pulled out the dart and met her furious, blood filled stare. One look was enough to tell him that she would neither give nor accept mercy. He could have respected that if she hadn't been a monster.

"Well? You heard the offer," he said, unceremoniously "what will it be?"

"See you in Hell, hunter," she whispered and Jack turned her over and the procedure was repeated.

The next vampire on their diminishing list was the one Mack had pushed a filled syringe in his throat. He couldn't answer in words but when given the ultimatum he paused for a long, long while before nodding a "yes". He would take the cure and change. Dean frowned deeply at him, wondering what kind of man he had been, before he had become a vampire. He would have much preferred if all of them had chosen to die as monsters. But an offer had been made and now they had to make good on it. If Angela was still up for it. He looked over at her and wondered.

Sam was speaking quietly with her and she shook like an aspen in autumn when he knelt with her beside the vampire. Sam didn't offer to help her as she extended her arm in slow motion and placed it above the vampire's mouth. Dean and Jack held him down and Mack was leaning dangerously on his chair to be able to aim the dart gun on him while he sucked her blood.

Angela cast a quick glance at the vampire's face and Sam registered a tiny, tiny relaxation in her body as she did because he looked only tired. Not hostile. As he unfolded his fangs she once again sought refuge against Sam's shirt and held on for dear life. When the vampire started choking Sam removed her arm and tucked it close to him and then lifted her bodily off the floor and put her down a couple of feet away, once again murmuring softly. Dean and Jack pulled the vampire away from the pile and dropped him closer to the door. They would have to haul him outside once they torched the place.

The other vampire that had attacked Mack screamed a lot of horrible things, calling them every bad name in the book and then some, and wouldn't stop. After a while the hunters shrugged and decapitated her. It was obvious she was insane, or had gone insane at any rate. That left only one and she took the offer immediately.

While Dean and Jack pinned her to the floor in the same manner as before she looked peaceful, and when Angela once again, with Sam's support, knelt beside her she said; "I'm sorry. Thank you." Then she unfolded her fangs and drank. When she started seizing Angela looked at her. She didn't say "you're welcome", but she acknowledged her apology by a short, quivering smile. Dean shook his head and helped Jack drag her to the door with the other shaking soon-to-be-ex-vampire.

Sam wondered if there were any of her personal effects anywhere in the house, but Angela didn't think so and finally agreed to be led out to the car together with Mack. Having witnessed the death or the turn of her captors had calmed her considerably though she was still twitching. Mack told her about the amazingly warm blanket he had in his pack and how much better she would feel when he made her some chocolate milk. They could hear her ask, before the door closed, what you called a group of vampires. It seemed to have preyed on her mind.

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	21. And the Rest is Silence

And the rest is silence

With Angela possibly rescued the hunters started to divide the tasks.

"If you look in the bedrooms" Jack said to Sam, "I'll take the kitchen."

"I guess that means I get to sort through this mess" Dean sighed and looked around at the wrecked battle field.

They didn't even have to discuss what they were looking for – money. If the vampires had been selling Angela's blood for close to three months, there had to be a pile somewhere. It was Sam who found it. The leader had a cartoon box under his bed.

Dean whistled when he saw the fortune; "Boy, he sure wasn't afraid of burglars, was he?

After a brief search for other humans in the basement, where the thermal scanner hadn't been able to pick up anything, the hunters came to the conclusion that the nest had been "dining out" as Jack put it. And it was time to torch the place.

The Winchesters dragged the two still violently ill ex-vampires a fair bit away from the building and left them in the grass. Neither felt inclined to any acts of charity like leaving them blankets or car keys. They'd have to fend for themselves. Mack offered Angela to light the torch that would see her prison go up in smoke, but she just turned away and burrowed further underneath the blanket in the Impala's backseat. And it hurt Sam to see, because they still hadn't told her that she couldn't go home. At least not for a while. Not until they had figured out if she would be safe there or if other hunters, and vampires, had heard about her. It would be safer if she just disappeared.

The hunters had a last meeting before going their separate ways. But before they could there were two things to consider. The first one was the box of money. They all knew that the money belonged to Angela. But there had been certain expenses and Dean was adamant that the older hunters should get a share of it. After all, there was no pension plan involved in what they did, or medical insurance, so they had to take their income wherever they could. Jack shrugged and took a fist without counting. It didn't diminish the content in any noticeable way. Dean did the same and tried not to feel like a thief or think: blood money. But some things had to be done.

Then there was the matter of Angela's blood. The Winchesters promised they'd try to make her agree to go into hiding, but also to be available through someone if anyone needed a cure. It would have to be her choice though. And with those issues resolved the hunters said their good-byes, knowing that if they lived they'd meet further down the road again. The cars left as the flames leapt high, consuming the tinder dry building with hungry enthusiasm. Purifying as best it could and Sam prayed that some of it would reach Angela too.

Dean took them to a fast food drive-through and they got food and coffee, and then they continued on to a big parking space at a supermarket outside of town, and settled down for a heart to heart about Angela's future. It wasn't the best place or the best time, but it was the only option. Angela was pale and distant and it was apparent she held herself together while looking for a place safe enough to break apart in. She wasn't interested in going back to her work place and try to explain where she had been, and Dean told her what the newspapers had said. She just shook her head when they asked her if there were any friends she wanted to talk to before going into hiding for a while and try to figure things out. When Sam told her about Ellen she agreed to go there, and Dean promised they'd break into her house and take anything that looked valuable, and deliver it to her there.

Dean called Ellen on the road and asked her if she had a room for a homeless kitten, and that got Angela giggling. A little. But when Sam told her about the money she started crying. All in all it was a nerve-wrecking trip and the brothers were quite relieved when they reached Ellen's place. Fortunately Ellen didn't have any problems with damaged people and without commenting about the crying she ushered her into the house and got her settled in a room. Dean and Sam took up residence in the kitchen in the meantime and were in the process of clearing it out of anything edible when she came back.

"Alright boys, tell me what I am up against" she demanded and they did.

When they had finished she had a determined look on her face that told them that she was "one the case" and she'd see Angela fine. She also told them to get some sleep because she'd need their help on a hunt as soon as they had raided Angela's house.

"Yes ma'm" Sam promised and they retired to the bedroom they had had before.

Just before they fell asleep Dean called out to Sam; "Hey Sammy, you feel better now?"

Sam didn't have to ask what Dean meant. He had long ago learnt that nothing could ever be kept a secret for Dean. Not if he wanted to know. And he had picked up all Sam's feelings ever since the beheading of the young vampire. Now he wanted to know if he was in balance again, and had quit feeling guilty about his demon blood. Sam considered the question. Would he ever be absolved of guilt? He didn't know, and thus he avoided the question in best younger brother style. "Dean? Shut up and sleep."

This was met by a chuckle from Dean and the rest was silence. Apart from gentle snoring.

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_Thank you for coming this far with me. You'll be happy to know that I've learnt my lesson and in the future I won't post any longer stories without a beta behind my back. Actually, I have a story in the process right now and my wonderful beta has already ripped a lot of it to pieces so I have good hopes of it being a lot better. Thanks for your support!_


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